January 27.
The following week will mark the beginning of spring according to the calendar, but in reality, it is the coldest time of the year.
The sky is clear, but the wind is blowing a bit chilly and biting. Only winter sports enthusiasts would want to go out, but of course, there are those who have to regardless of their mood.
The Imperial family mansion where Haruto lives was filled with strange tension from the morning.
This is because this is the day of the entrance examination for the “Reisei Academy High School,” which is Haruto’s first choice.
With the power of Shigeto, who is one of the wealthiest families in the world and has great influence both domestically and internationally, it would be a simple matter for him to be admitted to any prestigious school.
In fact, it would even be easy to create a school just for Haruto.
However, Haruto does not know such a thing, and in the first place, using power to enter a high school is not within the scope of his imagination.
That is why he worked so hard to get into the “Reisei Academy” that Shigeto recommended, and Shigeto and those around him did not carelessly say anything to reassure him but instead tried to support him so that he could pass with his own ability.
Besides, even if they forced him to enter the school, it would not be an enjoyable school life if he did not have the academic ability.
So, under the guidance of his tutor, Marina, he spent most of the day studying, as many students do, but it is not an easy task to raise the deviation score at this time of the year.
The deviation score is a numerical value that indicates the level of a person among those who took the test, and if the average score is exactly 50, the deviation score is 50.
The overall deviation score for “Reisei Academy,” to which Haruto is applying, is required to be 70 or higher, and if Haruto wants to have some margin, he needs to raise his score by about 4 to 5 points and secure a total deviation value of 72 or 73.
However, a deviation of 73 is roughly in the top 1.07%, and even 72 must be in the 1.39%.
This level is sufficient to pass the entrance exams to famous and difficult preparatory schools in each region, and Aoyama Academy Senior High School is said to have a deviation score of 72.
Naturally, at this time of the year, all students are desperately devoting themselves to their studies. Therefore, it is not easy to raise the deviation score even if you work very hard.
In fact, according to the results of the mock exam held in early January, the average deviation score for each subject was 69, and the total deviation score was 70, which was just barely enough to pass the exam. It was a level that could be passed just barely, depending on the condition of the other examinees on the day of the exam.
After that, Marina’s policy was not to be swayed by the deviation score, so he did not take any practice exams. Instead, he solved questions in the exam format, focusing on good questions chosen by Marina, and studied to eliminate his weak points and not miss any points.
After the Reisei Academy exam, he plans to take the entrance exam for another private high school in two weeks and for a public high school at the beginning of March. However, as for the public high school, he may not take it depending on the results of the Reisei Gakuen exam, which will be announced around the end of February.
“Oh, Haruto, whatever happens, just go and do your best.”
“Haruto-sama, all the servants wish you good luck.”
Shigeto, the maids led by Hisako, and the butlers in black were all lined up to see him off.
(The first thing that comes to mind is the thought, “I feel like I’m being drafted into the war,”) but it is his grandfather and the servants who have always been overly concerned about him. He smiled and bowed his head in sincere gratitude, and got into the car that would take him to the examination hall.
After this, the maids seemed to have a lot of trouble, collapsing with nosebleeds and smashing expensive vases unable to get any work done.
The entrance examination is not held at the Reisei Academy building but at a community center-like facility in the center of the city.
In the limousine on the way to the venue, Haruto couldn’t calm down and repeatedly pulled out the examination ticket from his bag to check it, and opened a reference book for English, his least favorite subject.
Marina and Ayane were with him as chaperones, and they tried to distract him by talking to him about various things, but he was still somewhat absentminded and gave only vague replies.
After 40 minutes on the road. They arrived at a relatively new facility near the city center and entered the building with Marina.
It seems that the building is reserved for the examination on this day, and on the panel displaying the events, it says only “Reisei High School External Examination Center.”
A reception desk is set up in front of the panel, and when Haruto presents his examination ticket, he is directed to the location of the room where the exam will be held.
There are three different rooms for the academic achievement test, and they seem to be assigned by examination number.
Most private high schools have a three-subject exam, but in the case of Reisei Gakuen, there is a three-subject exam of 90 minutes each in English, mathematics, and Japanese in the morning, followed by a one-subject exam in the afternoon after lunch. There is a 60-minute history exam in the afternoon after lunch.
After the academic exam, a short break is followed by an interview.
After completing the registration, the students are separated from their chaperones and are not allowed to leave the building, nor are they allowed to use their phones or smartphones to access the Internet until they finish the exam or withdraw from the exam.
Lunch is supposed to be provided, and rumor has it that your manner of eating and your attitude during breaks are also part of the selection process.
Surprisingly, despite the ban, there are no restrictions on bringing in cell phones, etc., and there is no need to check them in.
According to Marina, whether or not you can do it, and whether or not you can follow the rules may also be a criterion in the selection process.
Therefore, Haruto, who has never been in the habit of carrying around a smartphone, left it in his room and did not bring it with him. He has a note in his bag with a contact number so that he can be contacted in case of an emergency, though.
Following the directions, he entered the examination room.
The room, which was larger than a school classroom, had three rows of long desks, and surprisingly, only one chair was placed in the middle of each long desk. There were only about 20 seats in total.
Assuming that the seats were evenly distributed among the three halls, there were only about 60 examinees in all.
It is possible that there are other examination sites, but there must be some special reason for such a small number of examinees to take the general entrance examination, which is not an entrance examination with recommendations.
Naturally, the number of applicants from outside the school was also small, which made Haruto even more nervous.
As the start time approached, the seats gradually filled up.
As is probably common with such examinees, to Haruto, all the examinees around him seemed to be smarter than he was.
And, perhaps it is a characteristic of Reisei Academy examinees, everyone seemed to be brimming with confidence. In fact, there seemed to be almost no one whose face was tense with nervousness like Haruto.
However, occasionally a curious look was thrown at him, but that was probably due to his appearance.
However, he did not have the luxury of noticing such gazes.
Five minutes before the start time, two examiners entered the room.
“It seems that all of you are here.
Thank you for coming today for the external entrance examination for Reisei Academy High School.
First of all, please consider that today, at this time, the entrance examination has started.
Our educational policy at Reisei Gakuen is to nurture human resources who will lead our country in the future. This means not only the academic ability but also excellence in human qualities.
This is required not only during the examinations, but also afterward, and in all aspects of your life after you pass the examinations and become a student of our school.
Therefore, our selection criteria are based on whether or not you are suitable to be a student of Reisei Gakuen.
We are waiting for those who understand this and make an effort to enter our school.”
Everyone nodded seriously at the examiner’s words.
Even though Haruto did not know what it was like to be a “suitable student of Reisei Academy,” he had dreamed of taking the high school entrance exam, and if he could pass, he would be able to start his high school life. He would do his best to live up to Shigeto’s expectations.
“Now I will distribute the exam questions.
Please do not open the questions until I give the signal to begin. Please write your examination number and name on the answer sheet and wait.”
With the usual words, the examination began.
After completing the three subject exams, the students take a meal break.
The place is the same as the seat where they took the exam.
He takes his own lunch box and a bottle of water from the box at the front of the room returns to his seat and opens it.
The contents of the deep, square bento were beautifully arranged with colorful dishes, and a bale-shaped rice ball was placed in a separate container.
It was not a typical makunouchi bento, but rather a shokado bento, a type of boxed lunch box. It was not the kind of bento that would normally be served at an examination hall.
Since coming to his current home, Haruto had been gradually increasing his food intake, so he was relieved that he managed to finish the meal.
He had heard that the meal might be included in the selection process, so it was fortunate that he didn’t have to leave any leftovers.
After finishing the meal, students put the lunch box back in the original box and wipe the desk clean with a wet wipe. It would be very difficult to get the answer sheets soiled with water droplets.
After finishing the series of work, he puts the used trash in his back pocket and takes a break.
Finally, he feels just a little bit less nervous.
Having completed half of the test, everyone has time to look around.
However, no one is talking to each other during break time, as it is said to be a part of the selection process.
Even Haruto, who tends to be a bit shy, doesn’t dare to talk to anyone, and he only looks around to see if anyone is bothering him at a time like this.
And even more so since one of the examiners remained in the room even though it was break time.
As he was relaxing his body and looking around, his eyes met those of one of the examinees.
She was an adult-looking girl with a clear, well-defined face, probably half-Japanese.
When her eyes met Haruto’s, she smiled at him, and he returned the smile with a grin.
In the afternoon, the final academic examination was held.
Unusually for a high school entrance examination, the test focused on modern and contemporary history since the end of the Edo period and covered not only Japan but also the history of Western countries and Asia, which are related to Japan.
Therefore, it is difficult to study with general textbooks and reference books, and he has been studying mainly with past problems obtained by Marina. However, Haruto had always enjoyed reading history-related books and seemed to be able to solve problems without much difficulty.
Finally, the interview, which is the most important part of the admission test at Reisei Academy, began.
The interview is not a group interview, but an individual one.
The students are assigned to six private rooms according to their examination number and interviewed in order, and after the interviews are over, they return to the original examination room and wait.
After all the interviews were completed, a final explanation of the upcoming interviews was given, and then the group was dismissed.
Chairs are lined up in the aisle in front of the room where the interviews are conducted, and you sit there and wait for your name to be called.
As for the interview, there was no telling what they would ask or what they would say. Marina had no way to prepare for the interview, so she told Haruto to answer all the questions clearly and crisply, and to clearly say “I don’t know” if he couldn’t answer a question.
The examinee in front of Haruto was called and he became more and more nervous.
Finally, it was Haruto’s turn.
It seemed as if the person in front of him had finished in a flash, but it was actually impossible to tell.
After the door was opened and his name was called, Haruto stood up and entered the room.
“Nice to meet you!”
“Mm-hmm. Please have a seat.”
Haruto bowed deeply as soon as he entered the room.
Inside the room, there is a long desk with two men sitting behind it.
Haruto sits on a pipe chair in front of it.
“Hmmm? Oh, you must be Sairenji-kun. Oh, excuse me. Don’t mind me.”
The interviewer in front of him said as he looked at the documents, which were probably documents related to the examinees.
The interviewer seemed to have heard something about it beforehand, but Haruto didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about it.
“It would be difficult to say, don’t be so stiff, but well, there’s no need to panic.”
The interviewer looks at Haruto with kind eyes.
The other interviewer sitting next to him also seems calm.
When the interview began, the interviewer did not speak harshly to him but rather asked him general questions about his reasons for applying to Reisei Gakuen and about his school life to date.
Haruto answers them honestly and politely. There is no desire to make a good impression.
He does not know what the right answer is, and he is aware that he does not know much about normal life. Therefore, he simply answered what he was asked without any deception.
Sometimes they asked questions like, “What would you do in a situation like this?” He was also able to speak frankly about what he thought.
The interview, which felt long to Haruto, was over, and he returned to the examination room.
He felt as if something had slipped out of his mind, but time flies regardless of what he is doing.
The examiner came into the room almost immediately after everyone had returned to the exam room and explained the schedule for the next few days, and the entrance exam for Reisei Academy was over.
When Haruto left the building, Marina and Ayane greeted him right in front of him.
“Thank you for your hard work, Haruto-kun.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Haruto-sama.”
They greeted him with smiles as if there was nothing to worry about, and Haruto smiled as well.
Then he bowed his head with a slight bow toward the two of them.
“Um, thank you very much. For now, I was able to finish my examinations at Reisei Academy. I’m still looking forward to working with you after this!”
“I guess so. The next step is to prepare for your private school, and then, although I think it will be fine, let’s also do our best to prepare for the public high school.”
At Marina’s words, Haruto nodded with a look of renewed determination.